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Consultative Forum

The Frontex Management Board
established the Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights in September
2012. The forum serves as an independent body which advises the agency’s
Management Board as well as its Executive Director in all fundamental rights
matters. It offers strategic advice on how Frontex can structurally improve
respect for fundamental rights in its various activities. According to Article
70 of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation, the Consultative Forum
must be consulted on the development and implementation of the Fundamental
Rights Strategy, on the establishment of the complaints mechanism, on codes of
conduct and on common core curricula..

The Consultative Forum shall have
effective access to all information related to the respect of fundamental
rights in agency activities. To that end, it can also carry out site visits to
hotspots, return operations, and return interventions as well as joint
operations and rapid border interventions, subject to the agreement of the host
Member State.

The forum is comprised of 15
members. The European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the Fundamental Rights
Agency (FRA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are
explicitly mentioned in the Frontex Regulation and considered permanent
members.

The Council of Europe (CoE), the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe - Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (OSCE ODIHR) have renewed their membership by an exchange of
letters between Frontex and the executive management of the three organisations
following an invitation from the Frontex Management Board.

In addition, nine civil society
organisations have been selected on the basis of a public and open call for
expression of interest to become members. These are: the Advice on Individual
Rights in Europe Centre (AIRE Centre), Amnesty International European
Institutions Office (AI EIO), European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE),
Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), International Commission of
Jurists (ICJ), Jesuit Refugee Service Europe (JRS), Platform for International
Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), and the Red Cross EU Office and Save the Children.

The mandate of the current members
will expire on 30 June 2019.

The forum is headed by two chairs elected by its
members for a two-year term. The work of the Consultative Forum is undertaken in a
spirit of transparency, mutual respect, informed participation and
collegiality. It meets at least three times a year. These meetings serve as a
platform to exchange views and recommendations with Frontex Executive Director
and Management Board as well as to commonly identify areas in which the support
of the Consultative Forum is most needed. Consultative Forum’s Program of Work for the
following year is discussed with the Frontex Executive Director and Chair of
the Management Board during the last forum meeting of the year. The forum publishes
an Annual Report, which covers the main activities undertaken during
the year and includes observations and recommendations made to Frontex and its
Management Board.

Core areas of activities:

- Support
Frontex Executive Director and Frontex Management Board with fundamental rights
related matters;- Provide
strategic advice to Frontex operational activities;- Visit
Frontex Operations and participation in Joint Operation VEGA Children;- Observation
of trainings and support to development of training materials;- Frontex
cooperation with third countries.